Flamingos
Nigeria’s U17 women’s team, the Flamingos will Wednesday take on Brazil in the second semi match at the ongoing FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
Brazil come into this match undefeated thus far, but have been made to work hard for all of their results. A rollercoaster 6-2 win over Canada set the tone for their campaign, with enthralling 3-3 draws with Ghana and Poland following. Rilany’s side then found themselves behind against China PR, but rallied with two goals after the break to make it to a second successive semi-final.
On their part, the Flamingos were defeated in their opener, losing 2-1 to Poland, which left Akeem Busari’s side with a battle to keep their knockout hopes alive. They downed Puerto Rico 2-0 to get back on track, before their tournament-shaking victory over DPR Korea saw them soar into the second round. Mexico were dispatched in the last 16, with Venezuela next to fall thanks to an 89th-minute Azeezat Oduntan penalty.
Players to watch today include Brazil’s Greise Kelly who has been one of the tournament’s standout players. She’s contributed to eight of the Seleção’s 17 goals, including a tournament-high five assists, while spellbinding defences with her exceptional dribbling.
On the Nigerian side, perhaps they wouldn’t have made it this far if it wasn’t for the brilliance of goalkeeper Jane Ijirigho. The shot-stopper was terrific in the victories over Puerto Rico and Mexico, and has made 16 saves in total.
Flamingos coach, Akeem Busari speaking on the match said, “reaching the semi-finals is a dream come true for me and a great achievement. I’m looking forward to it because I want to make my country proud. We want to give our best in the next match and show everyone what we can do”.
His Brazilian counterpart, Rilany said, “I’m expecting an extremely difficult match. Nigeria are a very physical team. By the 90th minute, they’ll probably still be running as if it were the fifth. We’ll need to be very strategic with our game plan to find ways to hurt Nigeria.”
